The best TV shows of 2022 is a list of titles both new for this year and long-lasting development. All of them are well worth the time to watchand you are missing out if you don’t!
Quantum Leap leaps back to the small screen
When I heard about Quantum Leap returning to the small screen, I was pretty happy. I loved the original show and was curious to see if writers would be able to update the show to modern times. What I didn’t expect was that this show would end up on my list of Best TV shows of 2022.
The original show had a lot of human interest stories where Sam would help by leaping into that person’s body. And the reboot is no different but the reboot is slightly darker. You now have evil leapers and there is a subplot going on with the daughter of the original Al Calavicci, Janis Calavicci.
She and the new lead, Dr. Benjamin Song are in cahoots but we have no idea what that is about as it will slowly unfold throughout the first season. At least I hope it’s the first season and that the writers won’t smear it out over several seasons.
The show has surprised me in many ways. There is a backstory now about the Quantum Leap team who tracks Ben’s movements during his leaps. There is a bit of technology, dark storylines about espionage, and the higher-ups in political Washington also pull strings. It remains to be seen if the overseer of the project has his strings pulled a lot or just a little. The overseer is played by Ernie Hudson who played a role in the original series. It is a perfect casting.
The breakout role however goes to Caitlin Basset. She plays the new hologram as Al was to Sam Beckett in the original series, but also the fiancee of Ben Song, who doesn’t remember a thing.
Caitlin Basset plays the role perfectly. She is happy to see Ben and remembers everything. It redefines a long-distance relationship, except you can’t touch each other and the frustrating part is that your better half doesn’t remember you at all except for a few bits and pieces. The frustrations and loneliness, she plays it with so much emotion it bursts through the screen.
Quantum Leap snags early season 2 renewal
The good news is that not only did Quantum Leap get a 6 episode backorder but was recently renewed for a second season.
In an interview with TVLine, the president of NBC Universal, Lisa Katz, had the following to say: “We’re leaping into a second season thanks to the incredible work by our cast, producers, writers, and everyone who has played a role in giving this iconic NBC series a new life,” NBCUniversal Television and Streaming’s president of scripted content Lisa Katz said in a statement. “As we continue to bring audiences to our must-watch dramas, it’s gratifying to know Quantum Leap will have a prominent place next season both on our NBC schedule and the next day on Peacock.”
My guess is that the second season will also consist of 18 episodes, much like the first season will have 18 episodes. The reason for 18 and not the standard 22 episodes is the cost of the show. The show and its’ special effects are costly. So not just on the list of best shows of 2022, but possibly of 2023 as well.
Young Sheldon sets a darker tone in 2022
Young Sheldon has been going on for a few seasons and I have done a piece about the show a while ago but I wanted to mention it again. Simply because it went from comedy to dramedy.
The show was initially a spin-off prequel to The Big Bang Theory about the life of Sheldon while growing up. The comedy was top notch but in recent years, as mentioned before, the show has taken a darker turn with themes such as adultery, an unstable marriage, and a child out of wedlock as well as gambling.
For instance, Sheldon’s father, George Sr., has an ongoing fling with his neighbor, Brenda Sparks. There are so many will they or won’t they moments during a lot of the episodes that I think that it will happen at some point. Both of them know it too.
You can see the mild reluctance when Sheldon’s mother, Mary, asks for a job at the bowling alley that Brenda runs. She’s reluctant because of her feelings for George. But gives it a go anyway and Mary gets fired soon after that for messing up. Although, I have a suspicion that Mary would have gotten fired anyway.
Then there is Mary herself. Although being married to George, she still fantasizes of being with a youth pastor Rob, which resulted in a wet dream about desires and he played the main role. Whether it is symbolism or what Mary truly desires remains to be seen. The symbolism would be ofcourse that pastor Rob represents the embodiment of what Mary really wants from life.
When you talk about Young Sheldon, you can’t miss out on Georgie. Georgie is Sheldon’s older brother and the oldest of the siblings. Georgie was a successful tire store owner in The Big Bang Theory but in the show, he’s still trying to find his way. And that includes girls ofcourse. He pretends to be older and ends up with the local weather girl named Mandy. She is 10 years older and thinks Georgie is about her age. Georgie, however, is only 17 and after a wild night, he impregnates Mandy. Which serves as a setup for the show’s darker turn.
Sheldon’s family have dedicated Christians who pray to the Lord almighty before every supper. Except for Sheldon, who is skeptical about religion because of his scientific background.
The church finds out about Georgie and Mandy’s pregnancy and they started canceling meetings, and get-togethers and are even banned from church. This makes them reflect on what church, religion, and the Lord mean to them. Apparently, Cancel Culture happened in the late 1980s and early 1990s as well, way before the internet gave it a name.
And ofcourse Sheldon’s grandmother. While she’s the most down-to-earth on the show, she also runs an illegal gambling ring and contraband from the back of laundry service. Despite being a churchgoer.
The show’s darker turn is actually a soft reboot of what the show was. It started out as a comedy. The comedy’s still there but it’s not like it was in the beginning with these heavy themes. Also, the focus is no longer solely on Sheldon but on the rest of the cast as well, making it a little deeper than The Big Bang Theory ever was with the focus mainly on Sheldon, Penny, and Leonard.
The show is worth watching and if you start binging the show from the start during the Holidays then you’ll see what I mean with the darker tone. The reason for putting this on my list of best tv shows of 2022 is just because of the character evolution throughout the series.
Ghosts belong on the list of Best Shows of 2022
Ghosts is a comedy about Ghosts…tadaa! In all seriousness, as far as you can with comedy, the show revolves around a couple, Samantha and Jay, who give up their day jobs after Sam inherits a mansion which they try to turn into a bed and breakfast (B&B).
After an accident, Samantha is able to see ghosts and notices that the mansion isn’t all that it appears to be. The house is inhabited by 8 eight ghosts who all died in different eras of world history.
The show has some hilarious moments like the episode where Jay gets possessed by Hetty, an uptight woman who was part of the elite during her time on earth. But also some sad moments like the moment when Pete died. Which is the most emotional episode so far.
Pete’s wife Carol comes to visit the B&B and brings her new husband, who is named Jerry and was Pete’s best friend. But unbeknownst to Pete is that Carol and Jerry were sleeping with each other while Pete was alive. Those were some emotional scenes but the best ones were with Pete’s daughter Laura whose son is named Pete after her father.
The show is incredibly well written and all of the ghosts have their backstory on how to get to Woodstone Mansion. By the looks of it, the backstories took inspiration of Orange is the New Black. Very immersive and invigorating storytelling.
And I hope there will be many more seasons of the show. Or as they said with Community: 6 seasons and a movie but for now ending up on the list of best TV shows of 2022 will suffice.
She-Hulk: Attorney at Law
I have to add a Marvel show since I am such a huge fan of Marvel. It was a race, in my mind at least, between She-Hulk and Moon Knight. I picked She-Hulk because the show makes light of the formulaic writing of Marvel TV shows and movies and that alone deserves a spot on the list of best TV shows of 2022.
While I expected a full-on action show, what I got was 9 episodes of the way how men treat women. The show is one big social commentary about how crappy men can treat women in terms of dating, career, and likeability.
Ofcourse there was some action and the cameos were a lot of fun. Cameos of Daredevil, The Hulk, Abomination, and C-list heroes like The Bull. But also from Megan Thee Stallion, who was exemplary. But the best one was Mark-Linn Baker of Perfect Strangers fame who played Morris Walters, She-Hulk / Jennifer Walter’s dad.
The show made light of the daddy issues that were part of the Marvel formula by having She-Hulk break 4th wall and went over to Marvel’s office right before the big endgame. Instead, she visited the head honcho K.E.V.I.N., who turns out to be a robot who writes Marvel movies.
She confronts Kevin, clearly a nod to Kevin Feige, to discuss that ending. And what we got was some of the best TV in ages with the ending adjusted to have no more daddy issues among other things.
She-Hulk: Attorney at law is also Marvel’s horniest show. There was so much sex in it and it goes to prove that even in the Marvel Cinematic Universe there is time for love, lust, and one-night stands. It’s definitely one of the best shows of 2022.
The Star Wars Shows Obi-Wan Kenobi and Andor
2022 was also the year the Star Wars TV universe took shape. TV shows like The Mandalorian and Boba Fett laid the very foundation for the new Star Wars TV Universe.
The TV shows Obi-Wan Kenobi and Andor built on that very foundation creating invigorating TV shows that were both rich in character development but also introduced us to new planets and new protagonists that were seen before. Like the Inquisitors and Kyle Soller.
Ofcourse there was also room for old enemies like Darth Vader whose obsession with Obi-Wan was the main focus of his character development. Which was really interesting to watch. Darth Vader showed us that power without wisdom makes you look dumb when you fight someone who outsmarts you because of his wisdom and experience.
All in all, The Star Wars TV Universe is prepping for a great 2023 and I am looking forward to watching all of it.
Obi-Wan Kenobi: The return of the actual Jedi
When Obi-Wan was announced, I was happy as could be. My favorite Jedi is getting a TV show. Don’t get me wrong, I like all the other Jedi too. But Obi-Wan, he’s the first Jedi we ever get to meet, if you watch the Star Wars movies in chronological order. Ofcourse Obi-Wan would make my personal list of best shows of 2022.
And we get to watch Obi-Wan grow from Padawan to Knight to full-fledged Master. He basically grew up in front of our screen or from old man to young man to middle-aged man. Kind of like Benjamin Button in a-chronological order.
The show introduces us to Obi-Wan who is out of touch with his Jedi training but is asked to come back to the frontlines in order to protect a very young Princess Leia, who to me was the scene stealer of the show. The late Carrie Fisher would have been proud of Vivien Lyra Blair’s performance as the young Leia.
The show was true to the Star Wars mythology and even expanded on it when Obi-Wan encountered never seen before Inquisitors like Reva and the Grand Inquisitor. They added to the mystery of Sith classes and ranks. It was quite obvious that the rule of 2 doesn’t apply to Inquisitors since they are more than 2. But what does then? That question is never really answered and I hope the writers of the show, if renewed, will do so.
Other members of the cast also made a great appearance and added to the already vast lore of the Star Wars universe. Like Haja Estree, the fake Jedi who conned people out of their money. Or we have the Bail Organa reprisal by Jimmy Smit who also featured in the prequel movies.
The big fight between Obi-Wan and Darth Vader was ofcourse the biggest draw of the TV series. Now we know what Yoda means when he said: Stopped they must be; on this all depends. Only a fully-trained Jedi Knight, with the Force as his ally, will conquer Vader and his Emperor.
And now we know why Luke failed in The Empire Strikes Back.
We have in-depth reviews for all episodes of Obi-Wan Kenobi. They contain spoilers, so it is best to first watch an episode and then read them to find out what secrets or easter eggs you might have missed.
Andor
Andor was a very unique experience. It differs a lot from literally every other Star Wars show released until now. It’s more for a mature audience and is quite serious in its tone, not suitable for everyone and maybe not ideal for a relaxing evening in front of the TV.
Andor’s first season offered 12 episodes. Now that the season is over, you can sit and binge then all. I believe that this is how the showrunners meant for their creation to be consumed.
And it’s possible that the slow pace of most episodes turned away many fans. If you were one of them, I encourage you to find the time and watch them all. How about now, around the Holidays? We all get a few days off from school, work or whatever other daily engagements might occupy our everyday otherwise.
Similar to our reviews for Obi-Wan, we’ve got full coverage of the Andor TV Show. After you watch and episode, read the review and breakdown Adrian did on every single one of them.
My Jedi Skepticism in the Mandalorianverse
I was initially skeptical of having Jedi in the TV universe of Star Wars. The Mandalorian was amazing without the Jedi, who were considered to be extinct. It created space for more characters other than the Jedi and how they fare relying on their skills and not the Force. But after watching Ashoka Tano and Luke Skywalker in the Mandalorian show and then Obi-Wan using his lightsabre in his own TV series, I was sold.
I hope for many more Disney+ shows featuring Star Wars characters who we have never seen after the original movies to have their own TV show and ofcourse a second season of Obi-Wan, just because the rivalry between Darth Vader and Obi-Wan is an inspiration for many more fights in future shows but ofcourse, who could forget that surprise cameo of Qui Gon Jinn as a Force Ghost trying to teach Obi-Wan to get to the Netherworld where he will be able to receive much more Jedi training.
